Detroit breakfast spot See You Tomorrow is a delight

It’s always my goal not to be noticed or remembered in a restaurant, but for normal people, it’s sweet when it happens. Julian Hill, co-owner of Detroit brunch spot See You Tomorrow, not only came out to greet my party on our first morning visit but thanked us for coming again, on the second time. It’s that kind of attentive service that makes people feel there’s a place for them in this cold world, and brings them back for No. 3. A “See You Tomorrow” kind of vibe.

See You Tomorrow is the brainchild of Hill and wife Lisa, open on the site of a former North End gas station since November 2022. They chose to focus on breakfast because they saw few morning options in Detroit, unlike in Oakland County, where they abound. Saturday and Sunday are their biggest days, although the service is so quick that it should work well for those on the morning commute.

At home, I’m in a breakfast rut, so it’s pure delight to let someone else cook something a lot more elaborate. There’s almost too much to choose from if you’re in a morning fog or a morning rush: six scrambles, eight entrée-type dishes like filet of salmon and a BLT bagel, a half dozen sandwiches, plus lots of a la carte items such as sautéed kale and spinach or a tall biscuit so drenched in honey you’ll want a fork. There’s even alcohol: Moscato, sweet red, merlot, Champagne and traditional brunchtime tipples — mimosa, Bloody Mary, screwdriver, Tequila sunrise. To me it feels like an incongruous setting for Veuve Clicquot — the place is quite informal and you order at the counter; Hill calls it “fast casual” — but if that’s what floats your early morning boat, bottoms up.

The menu is a mix of soul food classics — chicken and waffles, salmon croquettes, wings — and dishes from further afield: lox and bagel, a Reuben, a caprese sandwich. Dessert is one of those delectable honeyed biscuits over vanilla ice cream, based on a dish Julian Hill’s father used to make at home.

Very little salt is used and nothing is fried per se. Instead, SYT marinates chicken for 24 hours, then pops it into a “broaster” that pressure-cooks the bird “from the inside out,” Hill says. Potatoes get the same treatment, for less grease and less cholesterol.

Portions are more than generous for the most important meal of the day. A bagel from Ferndale’s New York Bagel is served open-face, both halves heaped high with Nova lox and schmeared with liberal cream cheese, plus red onion, capers, and dill. An entrée of three salmon croquettes, made the traditional way with tinned salmon, is dished up with plenty of garlic-rosemary broasted potatoes. The smallest size soup is enough for a meal.

I liked a shrimp gumbo with andouille and rice. Chef Marichona Berta affirms that it has everything it needs to be a gumbo: the holy trinity of onion, pepper, and celery and a dark roux for the base.

Salads are also hefty. A kale quinoa toss (“that’s the best salad,” opined the counter worker) included bits of buffalo mozzarella for a good mouthfeel, with a thick, sharp white balsamic vinaigrette. Kale is also used in a Caesar and the simple mixed greens salad is boosted with cheese-garlic croutons. You can add bacon, chicken, or salmon to any of the salads.

You may be surprised to learn that croissants don’t have to be shaped like a crescent. Hill explains that “a true croissant is too flaky and pliable to travel with. We had to find something in the same family but softer and lighter, and buttery.” So the bun for my crab and smoked salmon croquette burger was a round croissant, glistening with the pastry’s signature ingredient. Parisian it was not, but it didn’t pretend to be. The seafood was appropriately soft within with a bit of crisp on the exterior.

SYT doesn’t emphasize eggs. Scrambles are available just till 11 on weekdays, and they’re the only egg dishes on the menu; no over-easy to be found — save that for a restaurant that fries. On a Scramble Baguette, the eggs were as light and fluffy as one could wish, with rounds of turkey sausage adding interest.

Potatoes are served with most dishes, always broasted, no hash browns; again, no greasy spoon references here. A 16 oz. bowl of such potatoes is swathed in melted cheese and bacon sprinkles for $11.25.

Julian Hill believes that “see you tomorrow” is “a wonderful group of words to say when you’re leaving a loved one.” He’s trying to create that energy in the restaurant.